New Mom Expresses Sadness Over Being The Fifth Person To Hold Her Baby After Her C-Section
It's a moment she can never get back.
Mickhail Tchkheidze | Shutterstock Even though her baby was born happy and healthy, a new mom is still grieving for all the right reasons.
According to the woman, her vision of the first moments with her new daughter was shattered when her family unintentionally treated the baby as if she were their own.
The new mom claims that she was the fifth person to hold her baby and not the first like she imagined.
26-year-old Natalie from Colorado was over the moon to become a mom and welcomed her first child back in October.
However, her birth experience did not go entirely how she envisioned it, and to this day, it still saddens her.
According to Natalie, she had to undergo a C-section. While she was getting stitched up, her husband had brought their baby into recovery, where her mom and two sisters had the chance to hold her daughter before she was wheeled back into the room, making her the fifth person to hold her own baby.
"I love my mom, my husband, and my sisters and I was super thrilled to be the first to have a baby to give them that experience," Natalie told Newsweek.
"It just saddened me to realize I was not the first to hold my daughter like I originally planned, but instead, I ended up being the fifth."
While the new mom is aware that her family meant no harm and were simply just excited to meet her new baby, they unintentionally stole a crucial moment from her that she can never get back.
"While my family meant no harm, and I love them all very much, I still felt saddened by the fact that that piece of my first-time birth was taken away from me," she admitted.
Other moms validated Natalie’s feelings, agreeing that she should have been one of the first people to hold her baby.
“This made my eye twitch. I’m sorry mama, never acceptable,” one TikTok user commented.
“The exact same thing happened to me. I was devastated,” another user shared.
Others knew exactly how she felt, having gone through similar experiences.
“I hemorrhaged and had to be taken back to emergency surgery, and photos had already been posted to Facebook by the time I got back to the room,” one mom revealed.
“I feel the frustration. My in-laws went to the NICU to see my baby an hour away before I was even discharged,” another wrote.
No matter how excited you are to meet the newest little one in your family, the general rule of thumb is that mom and dad should be the first ones to hold them and should have unlimited, uninterrupted time with them.
It doesn’t matter if you are grandma, grandpa, auntie, or the fun uncle — if it’s not your baby, it is not your moment to hold them unless the parents permit you.
There have been proven benefits for newborns who spend exclusive time with their parents for the first few hours of their life.
Research has shown that during what is known as the “golden hour,” or the first few hours after birth, babies develop a strong initial bond with their parents if they are the only ones to hold them.
This can improve a newborn’s emotional regulation, resulting in better sleep patterns, increase breastfeeding success, and lay the foundation for healthy development throughout their lives.
Lopolo | Shutterstock
While some parents may prefer to have family members come in and meet their baby during the golden hour and don’t mind others holding them, this does not mean it should be an expectation for all new parents.
Do not barge into the hospital anticipating to hold the new baby before mom gets a chance to. You’ll have that moment when you have your own babies!
Allow mom to meet the life she’s waited for so long to have, and allow her to bask in the moment she always dreamed of.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.